Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state before you talk to any lender. Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state.
Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Maryland
60 credit unions are headquartered in Maryland, with 2,134,579 members in total. 54 are federal credit unions and 6 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 60
- Members
- 2.1M
- Federal
- 54
- State-chartered
- 6
- Members per 100 people
- 35
- CUs per 100k people
- 1.0
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Maryland
Maryland has 98 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 60 credit unions headquartered here — about 1.6 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 2,134,579 members — roughly 35 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
60
1.0 per 100k residents
2.1M members
Payday & loan stores
98
1.6 per 100k residents
5 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Maryland: ACE Cash Express (31), Mariner Finance (23), OneMain Financial (22), Lendmark Financial Services (18), loanDepot (4).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in Maryland
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the Maryland rate cap (33% APR) | $91.54/mo | $49.21 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR) | $90.27/mo | $41.62 |
| Payday loan renewed every 2 weeks (typical $15 per $100, not available in Maryland) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the Maryland rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.0%
Example calculation with fixed monthly payments; the payday row shows typical out-of-state pricing for comparison. Actual rates and terms vary by lender.
What it means for a household in Maryland
- Median household income
- $108,948
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.3 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 11.0%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 9.5%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Maryland are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Maryland
| Payday loan in MD | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Not allowed — storefront payday loans are banned | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Rate cap | Capped at 33% APR | Up to 28% |
| Term | Usually 2–4 weeks, due in one payment | 1 to 12 months, in installments |
| Credit check | Usually none; a bank account and income are required | Membership required; payments can be reported to credit bureaus |
Payday rules: Maryland law as summarized on our Maryland payday page. PAL rules: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) rules for federal credit unions (PAL I and PAL II); state-chartered credit unions may offer similar small loans.
Credit unions by city in Maryland
Credit unions are headquartered in 33 cities and towns across Maryland. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Maryland
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Employees Credit Union of Maryland, IncState-chartered | Linthicum | 271,172 | secumd.org |
| Nasa Federal Credit UnionFederal | Upper Marlboro | 238,190 | nasafcu.com |
| Tower Federal Credit UnionFederal | Laurel | 218,540 | towerfcu.org |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit UnionFederal | Aberdeen | 184,732 | apgfcu.com |
| Andrews Federal Credit UnionFederal | Suitland | 153,258 | andrewsfcu.org |
| Municipal Empl.Credit Union of BaltState-chartered | Baltimore | 92,195 | mecu.com |
| Educational Systems Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenbelt | 84,377 | esfcu.org |
| First Financial of Maryland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Sparks | 80,539 | firstfinancial.org |
| Point Breeze Credit UnionState-chartered | Hunt Valley | 67,607 | pbcu.com |
| Lafayette Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rockville | 56,790 | lfcu.org |
| Cedar Point Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lexington Park | 47,768 | cpfcu.com |
| Johns Hopkins Federal Credit UnionFederal | Baltimore | 46,114 | jhfcu.org |
| Freedom of Maryland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bel Air | 43,167 | freedomfcu.org |
| Wepco Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bloomington | 42,117 | wepcofcu.com |
| National Institutes of Health Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rockville | 40,745 | nihfcu.org |
| Securityplus Federal Credit UnionFederal | Baltimore | 35,873 | securityplusfcu.org |
| First Peoples Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Cumberland | 34,621 | firstpeoples.com |
| Chessie Federal Credit UnionFederal | Cumberland | 33,968 | chessiefcu.org |
| Apl Federal Credit UnionFederal | Laurel | 31,150 | aplfcu.org |
| Peake Federal Credit UnionFederal | Towson | 28,552 | peakefcu.com |
| Fedchoice Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lanham | 25,704 | fedchoice.org |
| U S Postal Service Federal Credit UnionFederal | Clinton | 25,317 | uspsfcu.org |
| Bull Dog Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hagerstown | 21,251 | bdfcu.com |
| Nymeo Federal Credit UnionFederal | Frederick | 20,941 | nymeo.org |
| Prince George's Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bowie | 19,713 | princegeorgescfcu.org |
| Signal Financial Federal Credit UnionFederal | Kensington | 18,277 | signalfinancialfcu.org |
| Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit UnionFederal | Germantown | 17,696 | mafcu.org |
| Market Usa Federal Credit UnionFederal | Laurel | 17,055 | marketusafcu.com |
| Police Federal Credit UnionFederal | Upper Marlboro | 13,960 | policefcu.org |
| Skypoint Federal Credit UnionFederal | Germantown | 13,920 | skypointfcu.com |
| Har-Co Credit UnionState-chartered | Bel Air | 13,626 | harcocu.org |
| Transit Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenbelt | 12,406 | tefcu.org |
| Act 1st Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lavale | 12,048 | act1stfcu.org |
| First Eagle Federal Credit UnionFederal | Owings Mills | 8,184 | firsteaglefcu.org |
| Money One Federal Credit UnionFederal | Largo | 6,661 | moneyone.org |
| Five Star of Maryland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Baltimore | 5,651 | fivestarfcu.org |
| Destinations Credit UnionState-chartered | Baltimore | 5,579 | destinationscu.org |
| Washington County Teachers Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hagerstown | 4,475 | wctfcu.net |
| Central Credit Union of Maryland,InState-chartered | Baltimore | 4,369 | pbcu.com |
| Howard County Education Federal Credit UnionFederal | Ellicott City | 3,906 | hctafcu.org |
| Lm Federal Credit UnionFederal | Baltimore | 3,735 | lmfcu.org |
| Fedfinancial Federal Credit UnionFederal | Silver Spring | 3,671 | fedfinancial.org |
| W S S C Federal Credit UnionFederal | Laurel | 3,319 | wsscfcu.com |
| Ferko Md Federal Credit UnionFederal | Frederick | 3,035 | ferkomfcu.com |
| I B E W 26 Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lanham | 2,892 | ibew26fcu.com |
| Census Federal Credit UnionFederal | Suitland | 2,067 | censusfcu.com |
| None Suffer Lack Federal Credit UnionFederal | Suitland | 1,947 | nslfcu.org |
| Hema Federal Credit UnionFederal | Silver Spring | 1,787 | hemafcu.org |
| Mncppc Federal Credit UnionFederal | College Park | 1,696 | mncppcfcu.com |
| Thiokol Elkton Federal Credit UnionFederal | Elkton | 1,661 | — |
| Local 355 Md Federal Credit UnionFederal | Baltimore | 1,417 | — |
| Capital Area Realtors Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rockville | 1,014 | carfcu.org |
| Bee Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salisbury | 996 | beefcu.org |
| 1897 Federal Credit UnionFederal | Salisbury | 779 | — |
| Masters, Mates & Pilots (Mm&P) Federal Credit UnionFederal | Linthicum | 624 | bridgedeck.org |
| Capital Area Taiwanese Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rockville | 507 | — |
| Mvp Postal and Printing Federal Credit UnionFederal | Gaithersburg | 464 | mvpfcu.org |
| Korean Catholic Federal Credit UnionFederal | Olney | 299 | — |
| Choptank Electric Coop Employ Federal Credit UnionFederal | Denton | 277 | — |
| Mt. Jezreel Federal Credit UnionFederal | Silver Spring | 178 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Maryland
Other cities and towns in Maryland where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Aberdeen 1
- Bloomington 1
- Clinton 1
- College Park 1
- Cumberland 2
- Denton 1
- Elkton 1
- Greenbelt 2
- Hunt Valley 1
- Kensington 1
- Lanham 2
- Largo 1
- Lavale 1
- Lexington Park 1
- Linthicum 2
- Olney 1
- Sparks 1
- Suitland 3
- Towson 1
Credit unions are listed in the city of their headquarters; many have branches in other cities and accept members from across the state or the country, so members per 100 people is an approximation.